Stephen Jirsa
Senior Managing Engineer
Contact Info
Locations
San Diego, CA
Biography
Mr. Stephen Jirsa has over 25 years of engineering experience and leadership in forensic investigation/expert testimony, evaluation, analysis, and design of all types of buildings, structures, and components. Mr. Jirsa’s forensic experience includes technical leadership of large complex multi-disciplinary losses, as well as post-earthquake and post-hurricane assessments, construction defect, structural collapse, and construction accidents. Mr. Jirsa’s roles have also involved seismic design and evaluation, product development of building systems, building product certification and code approval, and structural and architectural performance testing. Mr. Jirsa has provided engineering expertise to commercial, insurance, legal, construction, government, military, and health care clients.Publications and Presentations
- “Engineering Issues for Post-Earthquake Damage Assessment", Presented to California Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters, Pomona, CA
- “Identifying Construction Defects and Long Term Conditions Versus Event Driven Damages”, Combined Claims Conference, Anaheim, CA
- “ATC-20 – Postearthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings”, Presentations to General Services Administration, Multiple Western Region offices
- Seismic Evaluation Presentations to Insurance Adjusters Association of Southern California and to greater insurance industry, 2019-2021
- “Seismic Repair and Upgrade of a Steel Braced Frame Building”, International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering - Symposium, San Francisco, CA
- “Studcast Hybrid Panels for Sustainable Design", Presented at Structural Engineers Association of Southern California / American Concrete Institute Joint Meeting, Monterey Park, CA
Education
- University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley
Master of Science - Structural Engineering - University of Texas, Austin | Austin
Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering
Professional Experience
- 2021 - Current | Senior Managing Engineer | YA Engineering Services
- 2019 - 2021 | Principal Consultant, Large Loss | Envista Forensics
- 2017 - 2019 | Director, Property Loss Consulting - Western Region | DeSimone Consulting Engineers
- 2015 - 2017 | Consulting Engineer | Xpera Group
- 2012 - 2015 | Managing Engineer | Exponent
- 2007 - 2011 | Director of Product Development and Engineering | Ecolite, Inc.
- 2004 - 2007 | Principal, Founder | Spire Engineering - Consulting, Inc.
- 1999 - 2004 | Engineering Project Manager | Ficcadenti & Waggoner
- 1993 - 1999 | Project Engineer | Degenkolb Engineers
Areas of Practice
- Bridge Engineering
- Building Code Upgrade Review
- Building Envelope
- Condition Assessment
- Construction Defect Reviews
- Damage Assessment
- Earthquake Engineering
- Failure Analysis
- Historic Preservation
- Litigation Support
- Marine Structures
- Non-Destructive Testing
- Repair and Rehabilitation Design
- Roofing
- Seismic Evaluations and Retrofit Design
- Seismic Risk Assessment
- Structural Analysis
- Water Leakage Testing and Analysis
Representative Consulting Assignments
- San Diego International Airport Rental Car Facility
San Diego, California | Investigation of fatal structural collapse occurring during construction of large multi-story airport facility - Petrochemical Facility Explosion
Investigation of tank explosion at petrochemical storage facility - Las Vegas Stadium
Las Vegas, NV | Evaluation of cracking of concrete floor decks occurring during ongoing construction of new NFL stadium - Brewing and Water Bottling Plant
Dominica, Caribbean | Multidisciplinary post-hurricane assessment of brewery and bottling plant including structural, manufacturing equipment, mechanical, and electrical; provided repair/replacement cost studies - Orchard Hills Apartments
Irvine, California | Construction defect litigation of a 500-unit apartment complex - Pacific Views Lodge
U.S. Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton, California | Product development and manufacture of lightweight thin-shell concrete bearing wall panels for 4-story hotel on base - Trident Submarine Base
Kitsap Peninsula, Washington | Investigation of widespread cast-in-place concrete defects in a critical security forces facility included evaluation, testing, development of repair schemes, and oversight of repair implementation - City Center Litigation
Las Vegas, NV | Investigation of alleged deficiencies of high-rise reinforced concrete building on Las Vegas Strip - World wide Post-Earthquake and Post Hurricane Evaluations
California, Mexico | Damage assessments of commercial and residential properties following earthquakes and hurricanes - Queensridge Towers
Summerlin, Nevada | Building envelope investigation of two luxury high-rise residential buildings, including EIFS, windows, and decks
Affiliations
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
- Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC)
- American Concrete Institute (ACI)
Licenses
- California | C54239 | Professional Engineer
